Three former Marion County firefighters are set to return to court in Ocala on Thursday, April 30, 2026, for a change-of-plea hearing in a violent hazing case involving a 19-year-old colleague at Fire Station 21. The 10 a.m. hearing follows months of internal reviews, criminal filings, firings, union grievances and a civil claim that have kept the incident squarely in the public eye.
Seth Day, Edward Kenny and Tate Trauthwein, who previously pleaded not guilty, are expected to change those pleas at the hearing, according to ClickOrlando. Prosecutors are reportedly prepared to lay out the terms of a plea agreement during the morning session.
Investigators say video shows the rookie firefighter pinned to the ground, stripped of his belt and pants and held down while a towel was placed over his head and water poured on him in what deputies described as waterboarding. As WFTV quoted Sheriff Billy Woods, “they decided to get a bottle of water and a towel and water board him,” an assault officials called shocking for the fire service…